EU's annual inflation at 1.4% in July

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Consumer prices in the European Union soared by 1.4% year-on-year in July, the union's statistical authority announced Monday.

Eurostat said the 28-member bloc's annual inflation rate was 1.6% in June and 2.2% in July a year earlier.

Compared to the previous month, 15 member states performed drop in annual inflation, while the rate remained stable in two, and rose in 11 others during July.

The lowest annual rates were registered in Portugal (negative 0.7%), the Greek Cypriot administration (0.1%), and Italy (0.3%), according to the data.

"The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (4.1%), Hungary (3.3%), Latvia and Slovakia (both 3.0%)," Eurostat said.

Meanwhile, the eurozone's inflation rate was 1% in July, down from 1.3% in June and 2.2% in the same month last year.

Since 2014, the lowest annual inflation rate in the EU was posted in January 2015 at -0.5% -- when prices were in fact dropping -- and the highest was seen in October 2018, at 2.3%.